Skrillex Goes Hollywood With ‘Spring Breakers’ Score

Notable film-music supervisor Randall Poster (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Hangover,” “Hugo”) let slip a certain detail in an interview with Pitchfork that has brought more attention to Harmony Korine
‘s highly anticipated new film “Spring Breakers.” Discussing the music methodology of himself and his longtime collaborator, director Wes Anderson, and whether he keeps up with current pop music, Poster confirmed that Sonny Moore, a.k.a. Skrillex, is creating original compositions for the film.

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“I’m working on Harmony Korine’s movie ‘Spring Breakers’ now, and Skrillex is doing original music for us,” Poster told Pitchfork.

On Thursday, Skrillex hinted on Twitter what his contribution will sound like: “it’s more or less traditional scoring … dont expect dance floor bangers! going great … very different style of production for me!” he wrote.

Following in Korine’s frequent subject of interest — the underbelly of teen and adolescent subcultures in America (“Gummo,” “Mister Lonely,” “Trash Humpers”) — “Spring Breakers” has been the subject of many an online post this year. Bikini-clad pictures of actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine and Selena Gomez from the set surfaced online, in addition to a sumptuous promo image and a periodically updated “Spring Breakers” Tumblr page.

Hudgens, Korine, Benson and Gomez star as friends who have known each other since grade school, and with a mundane college routine, seek out the excitement of a spring break vacation. They can’t afford the luxury, so they link up with a befriended drug dealer Alien (played by James Franco
) to rob a bank.

The tradition of electronic artists contributing to film is extensive: Aphex Twin (“Pi”), Trent Reznor (“The Social Network” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and, of course, Daft Punk‘s symphonic masterpiece for “Tron: Legacy” have proven that EDM and film work very well together.

If Korine’s films — like the gritty “Gummo,” for example — serve as a means by which we will examine a section of today’s American youth, Skrillex being featured on the soundtrack to “Spring Breakers” makes perfect sense. In fact, Moore’s mission has always been to shed light on lesser-known areas of electronica: Through the course of his meteoric rise to fame, he’s championed many forms of underground EDM, including drum’n’bass, moombahton and dubstep, and young Americans today can’t seem to get enough of it.

Neither can Randall Poster, it seems. “When I went to see Skrillex at Roseland [Ballroom, in New York] this year, it was dramatic,” Poster explained. “There were a lot of kids that looked like they were 15 years old. But I loved it — I truly loved it. I think Skrillex is just brilliant. When I walked into that club, I felt like I swallowed the music. It was like ‘Alien,’ like it went into me.”

Filming on “Spring Breakers” is complete, and it is expected to be released early next year.